Concern as Zombo registers 8 deadly road crashes in a week

Authorities in Zombo District have embarked on training in road safety as the District registered 8 deadly road crashes in the past week.

The crashes resulted in two fatalities and a string of injuries.

The training initiated by The LC3 Chairperson Of Paidha Town Council Innocent Godfred Onega, Police and leaders of Zombo Boda Boda Association,   started with riders from Paidha Town Council And will extend to other parts of the District, to raise road safety awareness, especially amongst Boda Boda Riders.

According to Zombo District Police Traffic Department, all the cases were perpetuated by riders.

Authorities say the training shall be frequently organised  To curb accidents and increase awareness about enforcement of traffic laws and regulations.

The Zombo District Traffic Commander Inspector of Police Jean Igulot, during a meeting with hundreds of Boda Boda riders at Paidha Cultural Center in Paidha Town Council confirmed that,  out of the 8 accident cases registered in the past week,  two people lost their lives.

He blamed the cases on reckless riding, poor mechanical condition of the motorcycles, lack of respect for other road users amongst others.

“Accidents now have gone at a higher gear, if I compare every month, for the past two years since I came here, we have not registered more than 8 cases in a month but it’s quite unfortunate that in the past one week alone, we registered 8 accidents and one was fatal, all these were by Motorcycles”. Igulot Said.

Out of the over 1500 members of the Zombo Boda Boda association, not more than five have riding permits.

According to police, 61 per cent of road accidents in Uganda are a result of reckless riding.

The Deputy CID Paidha central police station inspector of Police Julius Masendi has called for respect and vigilance amongst the riders.

From January to July This year, More than 10 Boda Boda Riders have lost their lives out of road carnage, The Leadership of the Zombo Boda Boda Association has revealed.

The Zombo District Boda Boda association chairperson  Fred onenarach, Who  during the training Cautioned riders against reckless riding,  also called upon leaders to address the challenge of the deplorable state of roads.

” We have started engaging the road users on how to safely use the road, this doesn’t only imply to the Boda Boda Riders but to every one but also above all, we know in Zombo district the status of our roads is not ok, our leaders should try to adress that ” Onenarach stressed.

The DPC of Zombo Asp Nelson Nahabwe has called upon riders to accord themselves some resting period noting that many accident perpetrators are those that operate 24hrs without needed rest.

” Do your work during the Daytime and in the evening, get time to rest, some of you want to operate 24hrs and end ups causing accidents”, Nahabwe advised.

From the beginning of this year alone, West Nile sub_region has recorded more than 50 road crashes.

A recent Uganda Police report indicates that a total of 12 people die of road crashes daily in Uganda.

The 2022 Police Annual Crime Report  indicated that a total of 20,394 cases of road accidents were registered higher  than the  17,443 2021 report.